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Librarian's new book features latest facts about dinosaurs

May 5, 2011

Librarian's new book features latest facts about dinosaurs

Science Librarian John Meier has edited a new volume in the Reference Shelf series, titled "Dinosaurs," which pulls together the latest knowledge and discoveries about dinosaurs from the past 10 years. The book contains five chapters: "What Were the Dinosaurs?" "Bone Sharps, Fossil Hunters, and Dinosaur Experts," "Of a Feather? The Bird-Dinosaur Link," "Mass Extinction: What Killed the Dinosaurs?" and "New Discoveries." Informative, current and highly readable, the book provides a comprehensive overview of the topic that is accessible to all.

In his preface Meier writes, "When we’re children, no scientific topic captures our imagination quite like dinosaurs. Perhaps it’s because so much imagination is required to dream up sprawling, prehistoric landscapes and populate them with ravenous raptors and swooping pterodactyls. While most of us eventually outgrow our obsession with Jurassic Park, some ride dinosaurs, figuratively speaking, into adulthood and become paleontologists. But professional bone hunters aren’t the only ones concerned with these prehistoric beasts. As this book makes clear, amateur fossil hunters, biologists, journalists, physicists, and students also make important contributions to the field."